We are sad to report the unexpected death of Jeremy Freeth on Sunday 28th April 2024. He was the founder of Thamesdown Recycling.
Jeremy’s daughters, Rosie and Georgina have been involved in the management of the business for several years and plans were already in place for them to succeed their father in the coming months so that he could have finally taken a well-deserved step back.
Left to right: Georgie Reeves, Jeremy Freeth and Rosie Freeth.
Freeth had been involved within the recycling industry for over four decades and this year he would have been celebrating 40 years in business. It all began in 1978 when Jeremy left school and started working for his father, Richard Freeth at his waste paper business. Then in 1984, Jeremy set up his own business called Thamesdown Glass. He started out with one lorry offering glass collection services to pubs, clubs and councils within Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Somerset.
Jeremy was still keen to expand his recycling services and it was with his enthusiasm he entered into the Secure Destruction market where he offered a service of taking full bottles/product in for destruction. This all came about when one day Jeremy heard on the news that there was a nationwide recall for a bottle company; he saw a used bottle from this company within the mixed glass and picked it up, read the label and decided to give the number on the bottle a call to see if he could help with the destruction of the recalled products. The company said yes and his first destruction loads started from there.
The destruction process involves the fluids being separated from the packaging and then being recycled separately. This part of his business became very successful, with companies from across the UK requiring his secure destruction services. It was at this point that Jeremy decided to drop the word glass and call the business Thamesdown Recycling. As the business grew with the destruction service, Jeremy with his passion, started to get the business involved in the collection of a range of different types of recyclable materials including cans, paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, film grades, tetra pak and more.
In 2012, Cotswold district council/ ubico started operating their kerbside dry mixed recyclables from Thamesdown Recycling. Jeremy had adapted the site and tailored it so that it could provide Ubico with the most efficient handling and processing solution. Due to Jeremy tailoring the site to Ubicos needs, in 2019, Jeremy had successfully been re-awarded the contract for the Cotswold District Council for processing their dry mixed recyclables. The dry mixed recyclables from kerbside collections include glass, plastic, tins, paper, card, small electrical items, textiles and food waste.
Jeremy also believed it was important to support local charities and causes. One of his chosen charities that he has been supporting for years was the Prospect Hospice. This charity is dedicated to end-of-life care for people living in Wiltshire. Over the years he and the company have raised lots of money to help support this charity and the company will continue to do so for many years to come in memory of Jeremy.
